Weatherproofed control station for



Marc h 24, 1964 H. C. STEVENS, JR WEATHERPROOFED CONTROL STATION FORELECTRICALLY-DRIVEN DEVICES Filed June 21, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. gaz/am d'fiZi z mi/r,

March 24, 1964 H. c. STEVENS JR 3,126,467

WEA H RPROOFE TATION FOR D c N ROL 's I ECTRICALLY- IVEN DEVICES FiledJune 21, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

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United States Patent ()fiice 3,126,467 Patented Mar. 24, 1964 3,126,467WEATHERPROQFED (IUNTRQL STATEON FQR ElbECTRlCALLY-DRHVEN DEVICES HowardC. Stevens, .lra, Muslregon, Mich, assignor to Manning, Maxwell dzMoore, incorporated, Mnslregon,

Micln, a corporation of New Jersey Filed June 21, 1960, Ser. No. 37,620tllaims. (Cl. mil-16$) The present invention relates generally tocontrol stations for operating electrically-driven devices such aselectric hoists, and concerns, more particularly, an assembly forweatherproofing such stations.

It is common practice to provide overhead electric hoists with adepending control cable carrying a control station within easy reach ofthe hoist operator. The control station usually contains a switch orswitches operated by a set of switch operators, such as pushbuttons,which may be manipulated by the operator. The opera tion of the hoist isthus controlled by the manipulation of the control station pushbuttons.

When the hoist is used out-of-doors or in a particularly humid orcorrosive atmosphere, it is desirable to provide a weatherproofedcontrol station, that is, one which prevents moisture or corrosive fumesfrom reaching and affecting the control switches. Control stations whichare sealed against moisture and fumes have been known, but they arenormally substantially more expensive than conventional stations.

Accordingly, it is the primary aim of the invention to provide aweatherproofing assembly for sealing a standard pushbutton controlstation against the effects of moisture or undesirable fumes.

An important object of the invention is to provide such aweatherproofing assembly which is very economical to manufacture andinstall so as to produce an exceptionally low cost weatherproofedstation.

A further object is to provide an assembly as characterized above whichdoes not affect the manipulation of the control station operators. In aparticular case, the weatherproofing of a grip-type station havingpushbutton switch operators permits the station to be gripped and thepushbuttons found and manipulated just as if the station were notweatherproofed.

It is also an object to provide a weatherproofing assembly of the abovetype which affords a tight effective seal.

Moreover, it is an object to provide an assembly of the above characterwhich detracts little from the esthetic design of the control station.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the following detailed description and upon reference to thedrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of a control station taken as exemplary of thetype of station which can be weatherproofed by the practice of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the parts used to weatherproof the stationshown in FIG. 1 according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is an elevation, partially broken away and partially in section,showing the FIG. 2 elements mounted so as to weatherproof the FIG. 1control station; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevation of the weatherproofed station shown inFIG. 3.

While the invention will be described in connection with a preferredembodiment, it will be understood that I do not intend to limit theinvention to that embodiment. On the contrary, I intend to cover allalternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Turning first to FIG. 1, there is shown a control station it which willbe considered exemplary of the type of station which may beweatherproofed in accordance with the invention. The station 10 ismounted at the end of a control cable 11 which, in a normal case,depends from the electric hoist or other device controlled from thestation ill.

The outer configuration of the control station is defined by a housingformed in two matching sections 12 and 1.3. A strain-relieving grommet14 surrounds the cable 11 as it enters the housing sections 12, 13, andthe grommet is preferably anchored to the housing.

To serve as operators, a pair of pushbuttons 15 and 1d protrude from thehousing section 13 and, in the illus trated example, are operativelyconnected to electrical switches, not shown, which control the circuitsrunning in the cable ll. To prevent inadvertent actuation of thepushbuttons l5, 16, the housing section 13 is formed with a guard flangeportion 17 which surrounds the pushbuttons. The guard flange 17 providesan abutment preventing inadvertent depression of the pushbuttons 15, 16should the control station it) be casually grasped or swung against someobject. The lower portion of the housing sections 12, 13 are configuredto define a gripping handle 13 enabling the operator to easily grasp thestation It) and operate the pushbuttons 15, 16 with his thumb.

In accordance with the invention, the station 10 is weatherproofed bysubstituting for the grommet 14 a grommet having an enlarged sealingportion and closely envelopin the station with a contoured, flexiblesleeve having its open top sealed to the grommet sealing portion. In theillustrated embodiment, a sleeve 20 of tough, flexible, transparentmaterial such as polyvinyl chloride is contoured to conform very closelyto the outer configuration of the station housing sections 12 and 13.The sleeve 29 thus includes a lower gripping portion 21, pushbuttonprotuberances 22 and 23, and an extending flange portion 24.

To replace the grommet M, a grommet 25 is provided, preferably formed ofresilient material, and defining a sealing portion 26 which, in thepresent case, is generally annular and which has a cross sectionapproximately equal to the widest part of the control station to. In theillustrated example, the widest portion of the control station til isapproximately through the housing sections 12, 13 at the area of theguard flange 17 and therefore the cross section of the sealing portion26 is preferably only slightly smaller than this widest portion of thestation 19.

The grommet 25 also includes an anchoring groove 27 and a neck portion28. A bore 29 to receive the cable 11 is formed longitudinally of thegrommet.

The sleeve 29 includes an open topped skirt 3i shaped to fit closelyabout the sealing portion 26 of the grommet 25. Since the sealingportion 26 is approximately as wide as the widest portion of the station10, it can be seen that the flexible sleeve 2% can be fitted over thecontrol station with a minimum amount of stretching.

To fill in the space between the sealing portion of the areas-s7 3 Vgrommet 25 and the Widest part of the station lltl, the grommet isformed with a lip portion 32 having an outer surface contiguous with thesurface of the sealing portion 26. The lip portion 32 is shaped to fillin that space extending above the guard flange 17 to the top of thehousing section 13 (see FIG. 3).

The function of the parts thus far described can be best seen by brieflyreviewing the steps for weatherproofing the control station 10. First,the sections l2, 13 of the control station housing are separated and thecable 11 and grommet lid removedfrom the station. The conventionalgrommet 14 is slipped from the cable ll and replaced by the grommet 25.The cable 11 is reconnected to the control station and the housingsections 12, 13 are reassembled with the annular groove 27 being lockedbetween the housing sections. The flexible sleeve 2% is then pulled overthe control station so that the sleeve gripping portion 21, pushbuttonprotuberances 22 and 23, and flange portion 24 closely surround andconform to the corresponding parts of the control station. Theflexibility of the sleeve permits suflicient deflection to enable thesleeve to be pulled about the housing sections l2, l3 and this operationis facilitated by the skirt portion 31 being substantially as wide asthe widest portion of the control station. When the sleeve 21 envelopsthe housing sections 12, 13, the skirt portion 31 closely surrounds thesealing portion 26 of the grommet 25.

For sealing the sleeve 2b to the grommet 25, a band clamp 35 is providedof sufficient size to fit about the sleeve skirt 31 and draw it tightlyagainst the sealing portion as of the grommet. Preferably, the grommet25 is also provided with a ledge 36 which overlies the sealing portion26 so as to shield the open top edge of the skirt portion 31.

To seal the grommet 25 securely to the cable 11 and thus prevent leakagedown along the cable into the control station It), a second hand clamp3'7 is provided to fit about the neck portion 28 of the grommet andcompress the grommet snugly against the cable ll.

In certain installations, it is desirable to provide for the release ofwater vapor which might be trapped within the sleeve 26) duringinstallation and which could condense to affect the operating mechanismof the control station. For this purpose, the illustrated embodimentincludes a small depression 41 formed at the bottom of the sleeve 20which defines a moisture trap and which is provided with one or moresmall discharge openings 42 (see FIG. 3). Water vapor which condensesand tends to collect at the bottom of the sleeve 26 thus finds its wayinto the depression 41 and is discharged through the openings 42. Inaddition, the presence of the openings 42 tends to facilitateinstallation of the sleeve 20 since it permits the escape of air as thesleeve is pulled over the station housing sections 12, 13.

It will be appreciated that the weatherproofed station It) is completelyshielded from moisture or undesirable fumes by the sleeve 20. Since thesleeve it! closely conforms to the shape of the control station and isof flexible material, the presence of the sleeve does not affect normalhandling of the control station and manipulation of the pushbuttons l5,16. Furthermore, since the sleeve 20 is preferably formed of transparentmaterial and does conform to the outer shape of the control station, theweatherproofing elements detract very little from the esthetic designfeatures of the control station.

Those skilled in the art will also understand that the componentsrequired to weatherproof the station in accordance with the inventioncan be manufactured very economically and can be quickly and easilyinstalled so that a completely weatherproofed station can be obtained atexceptionally low cost.

The tight effective seal provided by the sleeve 26 is in large measuredue to the close fit of the skirt portion 31 at the open end of thesleeve about the sealing portion 26 of the grommet 25. When clampedtogether by the band clamp 35, the skirt portion 31 does not wrinkle andhence no leakage paths are created between the sleeve 20 and the grommet25.

I claim as my invention:

1. A weatherproofed control station assembly comprising, in combination,a station housing secured to one end of a control cable, an operatorprotruding from said housing for manual manipulation, a grommetsurrounding said cable and being anchored to said housing, said grommethaving a sealing portion adjacent said housing of approximately the samecross section as the widest part of said station assembly, a sleeve offlexible material closely enveloping said housing and the protrudingoperator, said sleeve having an open topped skirt portion closelysurrounding said sealing portion of the grommet, and means for drawingsaid open top portion tightly against said grommet sealing portion.

2. A weatherproofed control station assembly comprising, in combination,a station housing secured to one end of a control cable, an operatorprotruding from said housing for manual manipulation, a grommet ofresilient material surrounding said cable and being anchored to saidhousing, said grommet having a generally annular sealing portionadjacent said housing of approximately the same cross section as thewidest part of said station assembly, a sleeve of flexible materialclosely enveloping said housing and the protruding operator, said sleevehaving an open topped skirt portion closely surrounding said annularsealing portion of the grommet, said grommet having a ledge portionoverlying said open topped skirt portion of the sleeve, and means fordrawing said open top portion tightly against said grommet sealingportion.

3. A weatherproofed control station assembly comprising, in combination,a station housing secured to one end of a control cable, an operatorprotruding from said housing for manual manipulation, a grommetsurrounding said cable and being anchored to said housing, said grommethaving a sealing portion adjacent said housing, a sleeve of flexible,transparent material contoured so as to closely envelop said housing andthe protruding operator, said sleeve having an open topped skirt portionclosely surrounding said sealing portion of the grommet and a moisturereleasing opening at the bottom 6t the sleeve, and means for drawingsaid open top portion tightly against said grommet sealing portion.

4. A weatherproofed control station assembly comprising, in combination,a station housing secured to one end of a control cable, an operatorprotruding from said housing for manual manipulation, said housinghaving a guard flange extending about said operator to preventinadvertent operation, a grommet surrounding said cable and anchored tosaid housing, said grommet having a lip portion whose outer surface iscontiguous with the surface of said grommet, said lip portion beingshaped to fill in the space between the grommet and said extendingflange, a sleeve of flexible material closely enveloping said housingand the protruding operator, said sleeve having a skirt portion closelysurrounding said grommet, and means for drawing said sleeve tightlyagainst said grommet.

5. A weatherproofed control station assembly comprising, in combination,a station housing secured to one end of a control cable, a plurality ofoperators protruding from said housing for selective manualmanipulation, said housing having a guard flange extending about saidoperators to prevent inadvertent operation, a grommet surrounding saidcable and anchored to said housing, said grommet having a sealingportion adjacent said housing of approximately the same cross section asthe widest part of said station assembly, said grommet also having a lipportion whose outer surface is contiguous with the surface of saidsealing portion, said lip portion being shaped to fill in the spacebetween the grommet and said extending flange, a sleeve of flexible,transparent material closely enveloping said housing and the protrudingoperators,

said sleeve having an open topped skirt portion closely surrounding saidsealing portion of the grommet, and means for drawing said open toppedskirt portion tightly against said grommet sealing portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSGoodwin Sept. 3, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS France Jan. 10, 1942

1. A WEATHERPROOFED CONTROL STATION ASSEMBLY COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION,A STATION HOUSING SECURED TO ONE END OF A CONTROL CABLE, AN OPERATORPROTRUDING FROM SAID HOUSING FOR MANUAL MANIPULATION, A GROMMETSURROUNDING SAID CABLE AND BEING ANCHORED TO SAID HOUSING, SAID GROMMETHAVING A SEALING PORTION ADJACENT SAID HOUSING OF APPROXIMATELY THE SAMECROSS SECTION AS THE WIDEST PART OF SAID STATION ASSEMBLY, A SLEEVE OFFLEXIBLE MATERIAL CLOSELY ENVELOPING SAID HOUSING AND THE PROTRUDINGOPERA-